Send a message to the Zoning Commission and DC Council: say yes to homes in Ward 3 and commit to broader upzoning in the Comprehensive Plan!

DC’s Office of Planning has advanced smart rezonings along Wisconsin Ave (Friendship Heights–Tenleytown) and Connecticut Ave (Cleveland Park–Woodley Park). These changes put more homes, including income-restricted, affordable homes, near Metro, schools, jobs, and neighborhood retail. They’ll support small businesses, make streets more walkable, and open high-opportunity neighborhoods to more neighbors.

This is a big step forward, but thanks to decades of exclusionary zoning, DC still falls far short of meeting our housing needs. To truly tackle our shortage and make room for families, seniors, and workers across incomes, DC must go further in the next Comprehensive Plan to legalize missing middle housing throughout the city. Specifically, DC should:

• Legalize up to Six Homes on All Residential Lots: DC bans duplexes, fourplexes, and apartments on most residential land. This severely limits housing options, drives prices up, and displaces working families. Historically, white and high-income neighborhoods have used zoning rules to limit racial integration, and today those laws continue to limit economic opportunity. DC should take steps to end exclusionary zoning by allowing up to six homes or apartments on every residential lot.
• Allow Parking Flexibility Citywide: Parking mandates force homes and businesses to include a certain number of parking spaces, even if they don’t need them. These mandates making it more difficult and expensive to affordably build new homes. This result is fewer, more expensive homes, even in walkable, transit-rich neighborhoods. DC should give homebuilders and local businesses the flexibility to determine parking based on their specific site and neighborhood needs, rather than forcing arbitrary mandates that waste space and increase costs for renters.
• Promote Transit Oriented Development: Underutilized land near Metro stations and major bus routes exacerbates DC’s housing shortage. Despite major investments in transit infrastructure, outdated zoning laws still limit the number of people who can live within walking distance of public transportation. This restricts access to jobs and services, raises housing costs, and undermines climate and transportation goals. DC should allow buildings up to the height limit within ½ mile of Metro stations and ¼ mile of high-frequency bus lines (with automatic expansion when new bus lines/metro stops are added).

What we’re asking you to do (takes 5 minutes)

On the next page, we’ve included a draft email you can personalize for both the Zoning Commission and your Councilmembers asking them to approve today’s upzoning and commit to broader upzoning in the Comprehensive Plan.

Personalize it: Add 1–2 sentences with your personal housing story how DC’s housing shortage affects you:

• “I want to stay in my neighborhood but rising rents are pushing me out.”

• “Our schools and small businesses need more families nearby.”

• “A smaller, accessible apartment near Metro would let my (parent/relative) age in place.”

• “My loved ones can’t afford to live near where they work.”